[Children's & Illustrated] Potter, Beatrix. The Fairy Caravan

Philadelphia: David McKay Company, (1929). First and limited edition, #14 of only 100 printed copies, signed by Potter on colophon. 4to. 225 pp. Illustrated with color frontispiece, five color plates, and numerous black and white plates. Publisher's green cloth, pictorial color cover label, spine lettered in gilt, soiling on rear board; all edges trimmed; book-plate of Victoria Thorn on front paste-down; old catalogue description mounted to verso of frontispiece; bottom corners of text block bumped; without dust-jacket.

Rare first and limited edition, one of only 100 copies printed and not intended for sale, and published to reserve copyright; issued simultaneously with the first trade edition. Potter did not wish to publish this work in England, as she felt the work was "too personal – too autobiographical" (Linder), but due to reciprocal copyright arrangements between the U.S. and Great Britain, publication in one country resulted in the relinquishment of copyright in the other. In order to avoid this, Potter had McKay, the Philadelphia publisher, give her 100 sets of sheets from this edition, and had a local publisher alter the first gathering.

A near-fine copy.

Provenance

From the collection of Maurice Sendak

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Darren Winston

SVP, Head of Department, Books and Manuscripts, Philadelphia

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Darren Winston, Senior Vice President at Freeman’s, has served as Head of Department for Books & Manuscripts, Philadelphia, since 2018. He has been a trustee of the Rosenbach Museum and Library since 2022, is a member of The Manuscript Society, The Bibliographical Society of America, and Philadelphia’s Philobiblon Club.

Raised in northern New Jersey, Darren moved to New York City in 1988 and began his career there as a bookseller in 1995. He spent the next 18 years selling to private clients and at East Coast book fairs. In 2003 he moved with his young family to Sharon, Connecticut where, in 2009, he opened his own bookshop. Darren Winston, Bookseller offered rare and vintage books, prints, fine art, and more, and hosted over 50 book signings and art shows. He was a trustee and, later, Board President, of the Sharon Historical Society, and for six years a trustee of Indian Mountain School in Lakeville, Connecticut.

Darren has hosted the radio program "Darren Winston's Book Report" for NPR-affiliate WHDD since 2009, appeared in the 2014 book-themed documentary The Paper Trail, and in 2024 he joined Antiques Roadshow as a books and manuscripts appraiser. From 1999 to 2005, Darren was the buyer and consultant to the Fine and Rare Books Department at Asprey, the British luxury goods company, at its New York headquarters. While there he spearheaded various in-store events including readings by Salman Rushdie and Dominick Dunne.

In 1993, Darren was hired as a Creative Consultant to Columbia Records, where he assisted in the repackaging of their 12-record Aerosmith back catalogue. He later sold his extensive collection of Aerosmith memorabilia, which he began amassing at the age of 14, directly to the band.

Darren now lives on the Main Line, outside Philadelphia, with his wife, two children, and dog. The family travels frequently to his wife's native England and Scotland. When not bookselling, he plays guitar in Pumped, an Aerosmith tribute band. Darren also appears on the top-rated PBS television program Antiques Roadshow.

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[Children's & Illustrated] Potter, Beatrix. The Fairy Caravan

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